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The company was founded by Chicago-born George Cohon. The first store opened in 1968 as the Western Canadian franchisee and operated with the U.S. operations. Cohon was the Eastern Canadian franchise and opened his store in 1968. In 1971, Cohon merged the two operations to one national operation. Cohon was responsible for developing the eastern Canadian franchises. The first McDonald's restaurant in Canada was opened in 1967 in Richmond, British Columbia, by western franchise owners. It was also the first McDonald's restaurant outside of the United States. As of 2014, McDonald's Canada had 1,400 stores (including Walmart Canada locations) in Canada, and more than 85,000 Canadian employees.

There are McDonald's restaurants in all of the provinces and territories with the exception of Nunavut. The flagship location opened in 2013 near the Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto.

McDonald's Canada faced severe criticism for its use and abuse of Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP). Several of its franchises are under federal investigation for abuse of TFWP. After a public outcry, McDonald’s Canada stated that it would undertake a comprehensive review of its use of TFWP.[2] In a conference call to the franchisees about the program, McDonald's Canada CEO John Betts stated: "the fact of the matter is we are a big bad company corporate you know, bad company. And these poor maligned employees, are who they are...This has been an attack on our brand... This is an attack on our people. It's bullshit." He pointed out that he has spoken with Employment Minister Jason Kenney, and the minister fully understands McDonald's Canada's concerns.[3] Following this and other similar controversies, the government halted the TFWP for the entire restaurant industry.